Idaho bill could prohibit the use of public funds for transgender interventions

The Idaho State House last week passed a bill that would prevent residents from using Medicaid or the state’s insurance plan for transgender surgeries or hormone regimens. The bill would also prohibit the use of any state property, facility or building to provide such interventions. The state’s Senate State Affairs Committee last week voted to move the bill to the Senate floor and state senators are expected to vote on the measure this week.

“These procedures and medical interventions carry substantial risks and have known harmful effects,” bill sponsor Representative Julianne Young said last week while presenting the measure. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be required to pay for procedures, treatments, and surgeries which are controversial at best.”

Have similar laws been passed elsewhere? At least nine other states already ban Medicaid from covering any transgender interventions, and three other states prohibit coverage for minors, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

Has Idaho implemented any other protections? Gov. Brad Little last spring signed a bill to protect children under age 18 from receiving puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or transgender surgeries. A district judge in December issued a preliminary injunction to stop the bill from taking effect.

Dig deeper: Read a report by Juliana Chan Erikson and myself about leaked files that show confusion among transgender advocates about hormones for children.